Hilton Head Jr. Shootout Video Highlights March 22-23

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Bluffton, South Carolina on March 22-23 for the Hilton Head Junior Shootout. This tournament lived up to its name with two playoffs to decide both Boys divisions. Winners in all divisions received an invitation to the 2014 Tour Championship and Mid-Season Invitational. The top ten finishers received points towards year end honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams and the Hurricane Cup. Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings were awarded to the field as well as South Carolina Junior Golf Association Heritage points and Tarheel Youth Golf Association points. Additionally, four AJGA Performance Stars were awarded to the winner of the Boys and Girls 15-18 divisions.
Ending the weekend in a tie for first with a total of 146 was Christopher DeMarco of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and Christian Salzer of Sumter, South Carolina. DeMarco posted scores of 74 and 72 while Salzer posted scores of 72 and 74. In the one hole playoff, DeMarco birdied to win the Boys 15-18 division. DeMarco recorded nine birdies throughout the weekend including the playoff hole, the most in his division. Salzer recorded five birdies and 26 pars throughout the event. Finishing in third place was Maurizio De Bono of Bluffton, South Carolina. He bettered his score from round one by five strokes, posting a score of one under 71 during round two. This improvement was enough to catapult De Bono into third place. De Bono recorded six birdies in the tournament, four coming in round two.
The Girls 15-18 division was dominated by Isidora Quevedo of Santiago, Chile. She posted an impressive score of 69 on both days ending with a score of six under par. Her weekend total was a 138, the lowest in all divisions. Quevedo gave all the credit this weekend to her successful putting. She recorded eight birdies with only two bogies the entire weekend. Quevedo also led her division in birdies and pars, with 26. Finishing 15 strokes behind Quevedo was Sophie Guo of Bluffton, South Carolina. Guo was able to secure second place after posting scores of 77 and 76 for a weekend total of 153. Guo connected for four birdies and 21 pars in the event. Kayla Smith of Middleburg, Florida finished one stroke behind Guo at 154 which was good enough for third place. Smith recorded six birdies over the two days including two back to back on Sunday.
Another playoff occurred this weekend in the Boys 11-14 division. It took two holes to crown the champion. In the playoff was Drew Weary of Bluffton, South Carolina and Bumin Choi of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea who both posted rounds of 149. Both boys arrived at the playoff in different ways. Choi led after day one, firing a 72 and then carded a 77 on Sunday. Weary was consistent posting rounds of 74 and 75 including firing birdies on two of the last four holes to force the playoff. The final hole success Weary had translated into a playoff win as he was crowned champion. Despite the playoff loss, Choi played fantastic golf. He recorded four birdies in his second place finish. Preston Topper of Suwanee, Georgia finished in third place after winning last week’s rain-shortened tournament in Aiken, South Carolina. Topper made two birdies in Hilton Head, both on the second day. He posted rounds of 78 and 75 for a weekend total of 153.
The Girls 11-14 division was won by lefty, Kennedy Anne Noe of Knoxville, Tennessee. She led from the start posting rounds of 81 and 88. Despite her struggles on day two, Noe still came out on top, winning by three strokes. Noe made 17 pars in the two days. Ashlee Richardson of Simponsville, South Carolina finished in second place after firing rounds of 83 and 89. Richardson made four birdies in the event, the most in the division. Third place went to Christine Scholten of the Netherlands. She carded rounds of 87 and 91. Scholten did not have a birdie during the weekend but she did have 15 pars.
Weather:
Day 1- High of 75, low of 61 with little precipitation and wind gust of 7 mph.
Day 2- High of 72, low of 55 with no precipitation and wind gusts of 10 mph.
Tournament Yardage:
Boys 15-18: 6,700 yards
Boys 11-14: 6,142 yards
Girls 15-18: 5,857 yards
Girls 11-14: 5,227 yards
About us:
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2008 with the intention of providing junior golfers between the ages of 11-18 an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Golfers who participate on the tour will compete in one of four age divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 11-14, Girls 11-14 and Girls 15-18. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania.
For more information regarding the HJGT 2014 Tour, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.